Tracking the Energy Revolution – Canada

2015

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Metcalf grantee, Clean Energy Canada, released their second Tracking the Energy Revolution – Canada report in September. Part of an annual series of publications that shine a light on key transitions toward a clean energy future, the 2015 report tracks key milestones in Canada’s clean energy sector, notable new projects, as well as policy progress and challenges that remain. The report also includes a list of the Top 10 Canadian Clean Energy Facts:

In 2013, the rate of job growth in Canada’s clean energy sector outpaced that of every other sector in the country.

Canada just had its best year ever; clean energy generation investment jumped a significant 88% over the previous year.

Ontario welcomed more than half of the nation’s clean energy investment last year.

Canada now ranks sixth in the world for investment in new domestic clean energy generation projects.

Almost half of all new growth in solar PV capacity occurred at the residential and commercial scale, as homeowners and business owners bolted panels on rooftops.

Contrary to the perceptions of wind power opponents, two separate peer-reviewed studies released last year concluded that wind turbines harm neither human health nor property values.

About 26,900 Canadians work in clean energy, including Meredith Smith, who builds and maintains wind turbines, and whom [Clean Energy Canada] declared one of five Clean Energy Champions.

Last summer, Toronto’s Northland Power put together the largest non-hydro renewable energy financing deal in history – a USD $5.8 billion agreement to build an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.

When one includes large hydro in the mix, there’s now roughly 89 GW of renewable electricity capacity in Canada, ranking us 4th in the world. That’s enough to power more than 35 million homes.

Canada has shut down 4,600 MW worth of coal power – the equivalent of scrapping 8.7 million vehicles.